How to spot a rip - and what to do if you're caught in one

The ocean can look like a mess and some of the telltale signs of rips can be very subtle.

But it’s still worth pausing and assessing the waves before you jump in.

The statistics also show that men are more likely than women to come to grief in the surf – most people who drowned in rips in 2016 and 2017 were men (83%).

Only 16 per cent of people who drowned between 2004 and 2016 were overseas tourists, which suggests that for Australians, knowing about the dangers and being able to avoid rips are two different things.